Heart rate variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the physiological phenomenon of variation in the time interval between heartbeats. It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval. Other terms used include "cycle length variability", "R–R variability" (where R is a point corresponding to the peak of the QRS complex of the ECG wave; and RR is the interval between successive Rs), and "heart period variability". Methods used to detect beats include ECG, blood pressure, ballistocardiograms, and the pulse wave signal derived from a photoplethysmograph (PPG). ECG is considered the gold standard for HRV measurement because it provides a direct reflection of cardiac electric activity. Reduced HRV has been shown to be a predictor of mortality after myocardial infarction although others have shown that the information in HRV relevant to acute myocardial infarction survival is fully contained in the mean heart rate. A range of other outcomes and conditions may also be associated with modified (usually lower) HRV, including congestive heart failure, diabetic neuropathy, post–cardiac-transplant depression, susceptibility to SIDS and poor survival in premature babies, as well as fatigue severity in chronic fatigue syndrome. There is interest in HRV in the field of psychophysiology. For example, HRV is related to emotional arousal. High-frequency (HF) activity has been found to decrease under conditions of acute time pressure and emotional strain and elevated anxiety state, presumably related to focused attention and motor inhibition. HRV has been shown to be reduced in individuals reporting to worry more. In individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), HRV and its HF component (see below) is reduced whilst the low-frequency (LF) component is elevated. Furthermore, PTSD patients demonstrated no LF or HF reactivity to recalling a traumatic event. The neurovisceral integration is a model of HRV that views the central autonomic network as the decision maker of cognitive, behavioral and physiological regulation as they pertain to a continuum of emotion.